RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CRISIS THAT NOW EXISTS RELATED TO FLORIDA JAILS AND MENTALLY ILL INMATES; AND REINSTATE PROGRAMS AND FUNDING THAT HAVE BEEN CUT IN THE PAST; DEVELOP AND FUND NEW PROGRAMS TO KEEP MENTALLY ILL INDIVIDUALS OUT OF JAIL AND TREAT MENTALLY ILL INMATES; AND APPROPRIATE SUBSTANTIALLY MORE FUNDS FOR PROGRAMS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

Indexes:

FUNDS

JAIL

MENTAL ILLNESS INTERVENTON

Sponsors:

Barbara J. Jordan, Prime Sponsor

Audrey M. Edmonson, Co-Sponsor

Carlos A. Gimenez, Co-Sponsor

Sally A. Heyman, Co-Sponsor

Katy Sorenson, Co-Sponsor

Jose "Pepe" Diaz, Co-Sponsor

Dorrin D. Rolle, Co-Sponsor

Sunset Provision:
No

Effective Date:

Expiration Date:

Registered Lobbyist:

None Listed

Legislative History

Acting Body

Date

Agenda Item

Action

Sent To

Due Date

Returned

Pass/Fail

Board of County Commissioners

11/28/2006

11A11

Adopted

P

Intergov., Recreation & Cultural Affairs Cmte.

10/18/2006

2G

Forwarded to BCC with a favorable recommendation

P

REPORT:

Commissioners Edmonson and Gimenez asked that they be listed as co-sponsors to the foregoing proposed resolution.

County Attorney

10/6/2006

Assigned

Intergov., Recreation & Cultural Affairs Cmte.

10/18/2006

County Attorney

10/6/2006

Assigned

Jess M. McCarty

Legislative Text

TITLE

RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CRISIS THAT NOW EXISTS RELATED TO FLORIDA JAILS AND MENTALLY ILL INMATES; AND REINSTATE PROGRAMS AND FUNDING THAT HAVE BEEN CUT IN THE PAST; DEVELOP AND FUND NEW PROGRAMS TO KEEP MENTALLY ILL INDIVIDUALS OUT OF JAIL AND TREAT MENTALLY ILL INMATES; AND APPROPRIATE SUBSTANTIALLY MORE FUNDS FOR PROGRAMS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

BODY

WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has the highest percentage of people with mental illness of any urban area in the United States with almost nine percent (9%) of our general population afflicted with mental illness, which is almost three times the national average; and
WHEREAS, over the last several decades, the State of Florida has not provided adequate psychiatric hospital space or community-based treatment facilities to address the needs of the mentally ill; and
WHEREAS, in some cases, the State of Florida has closed some state psychiatric hospitals; and
WHEREAS, mentally ill individuals who don't get proper mental health treatment in the community are at a high risk of being swept into the criminal justice system after they commit crimes; and
WHEREAS, in the State of Florida, there are now five times as many mentally ill inmates in Florida jails as there are mentally ill patients in Florida mental hospitals; and
WHEREAS, at present, there are approximately 1,200 mentally ill inmates being housed in Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR) facilities; and
WHEREAS, county jails in Florida now have become de facto psychiatric facilities that are ill-suited for the needs of the large number of mentally ill inmates housed there, including many who are acutely psychotic and suicidal; and
WHEREAS, the physical plant of a county jail is not conducive to the stabilization and management of a large mentally ill population; and
WHEREAS, the cost of providing treatment to incarcerated mentally ill individuals is much higher than providing such treatment in other settings; and
WHEREAS, the cost of providing care to many mentally ill individuals in effect has shifted from state mental health programs to counties that now are required to provide treatment in county jails; and
WHEREAS, the number of mentally ill inmates housed in MDCR facilities has reached a crisis level that overwhelms the limited mental health staff available to treat them,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to acknowledge the crisis that now exists related to Florida jails and mentally ill inmates, and reinstate programs and funding that have been cut in the past, develop and fund new programs to keep mentally ill individuals out of jail, and appropriate sufficient funds for programs for the mentally ill.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, and the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade County State Legislative Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in conjunction with the County Manager to set up a joint meeting with the Governor, the Senate President, the House Speaker, the Miami-Dade County State Legislative Delegation and the Board of County Commissioners regarding this matter
Section 4. Directs the County's state lobbyists to advocate for the passage of the legislation set forth in Section 1 above, and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2007 State Legislative Package.